


The Death and Birth of an Intern

by amaresu



Series: The Curious Case of Darcy Lewis [3]
Category: Doctor Who, Doctor Who (2005), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Chameleon Arch, Crossover, Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-06-12
Updated: 2014-10-28
Packaged: 2018-02-04 08:06:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,340
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1771813
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/amaresu/pseuds/amaresu
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Her life is not a fairy tale.  Fairy tales have better endings.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Once Pepper got everyone calmed down she was left looking at the fob watch from the Science Doesn't Work Here Room, three freaked out scientists, one silently crying intern, and a Norse God who looked ready to call his hammer from the other side of the building. Unfortunately her intern started freaking out whenever anyone went near her so Pepper was forced to ask the rest of the room, in her most disappointed with the universe and everyone in it voice, “Who wants to explain what you did to Darcy?”

Tony pointed between the watch and Darcy, “She opened it.”

“There was this light-” Jane started saying while waving her hands through the air, in what Pepper only hoped was an approximation of what the light had done.

“She absorbed it,” Bruce said, smiley apologetically at Jane for cutting her off. She just nodded at Pepper, confirming what Bruce said.

No one offered any further information which left Pepper with only one conclusion, “You don't know.”

Bruce shook his head and Tony shrugged while Jane glared at them, clearly blaming them for whatever had happened. Not that Pepper could blame her, but she was slightly afraid of a repeat of the situation she'd walked in on, Jane and Thor yelling at Tony and Bruce, with Darcy sitting on the floor screaming whenever anyone came near her. Just when Pepper thought she'd have to have Jarvis do something unfortunate, Thor placed a hand on Jane's shoulder and whispered something into her ear. Pepper had no idea what that was, but Jane relaxed and at the very least didn't look like she was going to attack Tony any time soon. Seeing Jane calm down Thor turned to face Pepper then and held out a hand, “May I see the watch?”

She nodded her head and stepped back from the table it had been placed on, not wanting to touch it herself. Thor had no such worries as he picked it right up and peered at the markings on the outside of the watch, “I know these symbols.”

“You can read it?” Jane asked while casting a hopeful gaze at Darcy.

Thor smiled at her sadly, “No, I recognize them from several books in my father's library. I doubt there is a creature left alive that can read this writing.” He looked at Darcy again though and sighed, “Although perhaps there is one.”

“Darcy?” Tony asked while looking at the girl on the floor. He sounded unconvinced and Pepper couldn't help but agree with his sentiment. Darcy was brilliant with spreadsheets, not so much with languages. 

“If Darcy be here name,” Thor carried the watch to her and knelt on the floor. “There are stories of a race from the planet Gallifrey, the Lords and Ladies of Time.”

At that Darcy lifted her head and looked at someone else for the first time since Pepper had entered the room. She grabbed the watch from Thor and glared, “What do you know of Gallifrey? Speak now Asgardian.”

Pepper didn't bother to contain her surprise at hearing Darcy talk. It was like a different person, Darcy was full of joy and amusement at life, this person was cold and arrogant. It was like the difference between Thor and Loki talking, one wanted to bring everyone else in on the joke and the other found everyone else to be the joke. From the way Jane started and the wide eyed look she shared with Thor, Pepper didn't think she was the only one to notice the change.

Thor only nodded his head, “I know that the last Sons of Skaro wagged war against their ancient enemy on the only battlefield that mattered. Time was ravaged and no side won. It is said that a thousand thousand ships burned in the depths of space and through the heart of the Vortex. Planets ceased to have ever existed and ancient battles never ended. In the end all was destroyed and the remains were frozen in time to protect the rest of the universe. It's said there are places you can see stars forever exploding into dust.” 

“When? When did, no that's a stupid question.” Darcy sounded broken to Pepper, like the thing holding her together had been snapped, arrogance gone like her former tears. “So, whatever is left of my planet is Time Locked?”

“Aye.” Pepper was grateful for Thor's sincerity as she thought it might be the only thing keeping Darcy from exploding. He put such infinite sadness into that one word that Pepper wanted to cry. 

“And my people?” Darcy didn't sound hopeful, even as she kept her gaze locked with Thor's.

“Dead. If any are alive I know it not,” he hesitated before sighing and almost laying a hand on Darcy's shoulder before pulling it back. “There are rumors that the Doctor still travels the universe. I can not say for sure as he has not visited my people since I was a child.”

They stood silently, waiting for what Pepper didn't know, but it seemed like everyone was afraid to be the first to say something, holding their breaths until something broke the spell Thor's words had created. Which was of course when Tony, Tony the tactless love of her life, stepped forward with the questions they'd all been avoiding, “Who are you? What is that watch? Why are you here?”

“Who am I?” Darcy asked in reply before breaking down laughing. She laughed so long that Pepper was afraid she'd start crying again. “What is a name without a people? I have no planet to be exiled from, but exile I am.” She laughed again, bitterly, but without the edge of desperation the previous bout had, “I have no name.”

“Okay,” Tony said in his best humoring someone voice. Backing away and not at all subtly grabbing a wrench off the table before sliding over to stand next to Pepper. She smiled and him and took the wrench, but kept a hold of his hand. 

Jane and Bruce looked on wide-eyed from the side, but Thor appeared to be perfectly at ease with the situation. Pepper made a mental note to ask him about the things he'd said later, first though she stepped in before Tony could say anything else, “Why are you here?”

She nearly regretted it when Darcy laughed again before directing her glare towards Pepper, “Why am I here? I'm here because some stupid little shit of a human got herself killed in a car crash and couldn't be allowed to die on the side of the road, bleeding into the dirt. Stupid little linchpin. The story changes but the end remains the same.”

It was not what Pepper had been expecting and she found herself unable to talk, caught by Darcy's gaze and the angry and betrayal she could see in them. Also the inhumanity, she no longer doubted that the person before her wasn't Darcy. She could see Jane from the corner of her eye, mouth open but no sound coming out. They stood there for what felt like an eternity before Tony was once again the first to regain his voice, “What? The story changes but the end remains the same? What does that even mean?”

Thor sighed and finally left Darcy's side to stand with Jane again. She latched onto him immediately as he wrapped an arm around her, “I've heard stories of this. It's said that when something goes wrong with time the Lords and Ladies of Gallifrey would send one of their own in disguise to insure that things went the way time said they should.”

“What?” Pepper was only glad Bruce said it first and doubly glad that he sounded as confused as she felt. 

“Causality needs to be preserved,” Darcy said with scorn, finally standing to face them. She lifted up the watch and held it dangling in the air, “This is a storage device for the chameleon arch, preserving my true self until the end of the mission. Before you ask a chameleon arch is the device that let me appear human.”

The last was delivered to Tony. He held up his hands in surrender. Which Pepper took as her cue to step forward, “Now what?”

“Now what?” Darcy asked in response. Clearly confused by the question. 

“Now what?” Pepper repeated the question. “You're not Darcy Lewis and unless I missed something Darcy Lewis was never here to begin with, as the car crash must've been the one she had out to Puente Antiguo. What do you plan on doing?”

Darcy took a deep breath, straitened her shoulders, and smirked, it wasn't a pleasant smirk, but Pepper wasn't expecting much pleasantness at this point. Darcy held up the watch and twisted the back, popping off the panel. She pulled something out of it, too small for Pepper to get a clear look, and pushed a button with an audible click. Suddenly the room was filled with a grinding noise and a new door appeared along the far wall, the wall Pepper was certain led to an outside wall 35 stories into the air. Darcy walked past them and opened the door, showing a vast room behind it instead of the open air Pepper knew had to be there. She turned and waved with her fingers as she stepped through, “I guess I'll find out.”

Before any of them could say anything the door closed and the girl they'd only ever know as Darcy was gone with the door that disappeared with the same grinding noise that brought it.


	2. Stories, Myths, and Legends

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jane collects stories.

Jane collects stories.

Thor tells her of the lore he knows, the Lords and Ladies of Time that hid themselves away from the rest of the universe until they couldn't anymore, “A race so old they had become the Masters of Time before Asgard had formed from the dust cloud of an expanding universe.” He tells her of a war that was more myth than fact, but with scars that span eternity. He weaves stories about the Children of Skaro and the destruction they wrought as they spread across galaxies. She listens to him weaves tales through the night and it was hard to believe that there is real history behind the pretty turns of phrase that Asgardians love. 

Peter Quill shares half-remembered stories from his days growing up among the Ravagers. Stories that tell of fierce and arrogant people who locked away knowledge and passed down judgment on the so-called lesser races. Fables of a race that would let the worst atrocities happen without blinking and kill a child to protect Time, “Preserving continuity they called it. Or so the Ravagers said.” 

Gamora recites a long and flowing poem in an alien language Jane has no hope of understanding, but which makes Thor cheer at the end. She smiles at Thor before turning back to Jane, “It doesn't translate well, but it tells of the Thirteen Faces of the Time Lord as he walks through his life.” She's unable to explain why they have thirteen faces, but the concept of regeneration in enthralling.

Drax makes a simple, but confusing statement, “Thanos did not exist until the Time Lords no longer did.” Gamora demands that he explain, but he simply shrugs and moves onto sharpening his knife.

Rocket spins her a story of the most beautiful thing he'd ever seen, “There's this sun, exploding, forever. And just when you think it's going to break apart and collapse there's this flicker and everything resets. If you look closely there's this little fleet of ships perpetually trying to escape.” He sighs and wipes an imaginary tear from his face. “Time War leftovers.”

“I am Groot,”is all he says, but somehow he manages to convey the vastness of Time and the intricate way everything is strung together. Jane marvels at the pictures painted by his simple phrase for hours, unable to find the proper words for writing it down.

Bruce is the first to tell her of the Doctor, “Travels in a blue box and stops bad guys. Or something.” He has a bitter twist to his mouth and Jane doesn't push him further, suspecting there's a different story there. Tony though gets a Look on his face and spends the next hour digging through the internet and every data base he can find. In the end he brings her links to forums and conspiracy sites, but nothing solid. Just seemingly endless and sometimes contradictory stories about the Doctor, possibly a Time Lord, definitely an alien. Nothing she can latch onto to find Darcy again. 

In the end it's Clint and Natasha who give her the phone number. They have one of their silent arguments first before Natasha throws up her hands and writes it down on a piece of paper, leaving Clint to say, “Martha and Mickey, good people.” 

She tries to ask for more information but Natasha just says, “Budapest” and drags Clint from the room.

She never gets to talk to Martha or Mickey. Instead the phone is answered by, “Kate Stewart, UNIT. Stop looking into things Dr. Foster. I'll let the Doctor know you're trying to get in touch and leave it to him.” The phone disconnects and the number stops working after that. 

Tony whistles, long and low, when she tells him, “UNIT. They're even more hush-hush then SHIELD. Supposedly dealt with a bunch of alien invasions back in the seventies or eighties.” He walks off trying to track down Martha and Mickey though so Jane counts it as a win.

Jane doesn't want to listen to Kate Stewart, UNIT, but she's out of options regardless unless Tony comes through. She tucks her folders of research onto a shelf and tries to move on. Until one day there's a grinding noise, like the one that preceded Darcy leaving, that fills the tower and she steps out of her lab to see the blue box itself materialize. A tall man with graying hair steps out and squints at her, “Dr. Foster?”


End file.
